Google is facing another possible anti-trust investigation overseas: Nearly two dozen European companies have signed a letter sent to European Union officials accusing the search giant of using its position to stifle competition in the online job listing market.

The group of 23 European job sites signed a letter to Margrethe Vestager, the EU’s competition commissioner, asserting that Google is favoring its own job-search tool over other sites when individuals look for jobs. A report from Reuters said the companies behind the letter have asked Vestager to force Google to stop giving preferential treatment to its job-search tool while she formally investigates the matter.

Vestager has not yet said if she will launch an investigation into the claims. Among the European job sites to sign the complaint against Google are Best Jobs Online, a site based in the UK, and German sites Intermedia and Jobindex.

Google is no stranger to dealing with investigations into its business practices by the EU. Since 2010, the EU has launched three anti-trust probes of Google, and has fined the company almost $9 billion.

In a statement, Nick Zakrasek, senior product manager for Google search, did not address the European companies’ complaint directly. He said that Google only sought to improve the job-searching experience, and that other job sites have benefited by the company’s actions.

“We worked with jobs providers to create a better experience for job seekers in Search,” he said. “Any provider — from individual employers to job listing platforms — can utilize this feature in Search, and many of them have seen a significant increase in the number of job applications they receive.”

Rex Crum is the senior web editor for the business section for The Mercury News and Bay Area News Group. He also writes about business and technology for the publications' print and web editions, and has covered business and technology for nearly two decades. A native of Seattle, he remains a diehard Seahawks and Mariners fan and is imparting his fandom to his Oakland-native wife and two young daughters.

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